Copy SDE geodatabase (source; enterprise geodatabase, destination; enterprise geodatabase)

[JohnMellor__GISP]

What is the best way to make an entire copy of an SDE geodatabase to a "test" SDE geodatabase?   

[EduardoAbreu-Freire]

Thank you for the suggestion. My hard situation came up because I was told not to reconcile due to editions we are working on and was having problems with old domains in some tables so did a DB restore and backup on the server side but since we are working on a single instance could not use the same name for the "clone" DB and then have faced the problem of not able to connect ArcGIS to that DB. We have cleaning tables and domains I was able to export as XML.

[George_Thompson]

That is understandable but there are limited options in that instance.

[AdityarajChavada]

Asrujit SenGupta‌, Why can ArcGIS connect to a database created (backup and restore) on a same instance with different name? What is the technical limitation here exactly?

[Asrujit_SenGupta]

Adityaraj wrote:

Asrujit SenGupta, Why can ArcGIS connect to a database created (backup and restore) on a same instance with different name? What is the technical limitation here exactly?

I am confused. Are you asking why CAN ArcGIS connect or why it CAN'T?

FAQ: Can I restore an ArcSDE geodatabase with a different database name in SQL Server? 

Error: An error is received when trying to access a SQL Server ArcSDE geodatabase that has been rest... 

Cause

The cause of such an error may be linked to restoring a database in SQL Server Enterprise Manager/Management Studio under a different name than the original backup or datafile.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to rename an ArcSDE geodatabase once it has been created. The name of the original database is hard-coded in database objects. When the name of a database has been changed using a stored procedure or a database is restored to a name different from the original, the database cannot be be accessed via ArcSDE or ArcGIS clients.

[AdityarajChavada]

Asrujit SenGupta‌. Thank you. To Clarify and avoid your confusion, I meant why ArcGIS cannot connect to a new database on the same instance? 

[JohnMellor__GISP]

Ok, I think I understand it now. Thank you for you help.